Those who have done split stays...

[mom2morgan]

Can you tell me about your experiences? Why did you do it? How many days did you stay in each? Anyone ever been crazy enough to do more than 2 resorts, or to stay partly on and partly off property? What did you find the best way to have your luggage transferred, and did you feel like you were wasting part of the day checking in and checking out? We're just so anxous to try as many places as possible in the few trips we get to make! I'm always afraid I'm going to be missing out on something ;-) Also, I really, really don't want to venture off Disney property, but we want two days at Universal and my hubby thinks we should stay in one of their hotels just to get the "front of the line" privileges, since they have no other fast pass system.

[badkitty]

I have done a split stay twice. The first was:
3 days ASMo
4 days WL
3 days Coronado Springs

The reason was to try different resorts and to save a bit of money. We had rented a car so luggage transfer wasn't a problem but we did spend extra time packing up and checking in.

The next trip was:
8 days WL
2 days Poly

The reason was we thought two resorts was enough variety as three switches was a bit much. Plus I really wanted to stay at the Poly and we couldn't afford more than two nights there. This time we didn't have a car so we had Baggage Service move our bags. That was really simple. Our room wasn't ready at the Poly so with our luggage tuck away, we went to EPCOT for the day. When our room was ready, we went back to the Poly and called for our luggage. It was brought to us within 10 minutes. So easy.

I preferred only switching twice because of having to pack up.

[2Epcot]

We're just so anxious to try as many places as possible in the few trips we get to make! I'm always afraid I'm going to be missing out on something ;-) Also, I really, really don't want to venture off Disney property, but we want two days at Universal and my hubby thinks we should stay in one of their hotels just to get the "front of the line" privileges, since they have no other fast pass system.

We have done it many times. I believe at least 4 or 5 trips we've done split stays. That is exactly why we do it ... We don't get to WDW so often, on average every 3 years, so we like to experience as many different resorts on each trip as possible. Usually a moderate and a value or a deluxe and a value.

Moving between the resorts has always been pretty easy. On the two occasions I've gone to Universal we had a vehicle on those trips, and just stayed at WDW and drove to Universal. Both times were not in the summer, so we were not worried too much about getting front of the line passes.

[CleveRocks]

I ended up NOT doing this, but here was my plan:

We were going for one week. My wife's very most favorite thing in the entire World is "Wishes," the fireworks show at Magic Kingdom. The trip was partly for her 40th birthday, so I decided that a Magic Kingdom-view room at Contemporary would be especially magical for her.

But the idea of paying for such an expensive room didn't appeal to me, and I know she wouldn't have wanted to do it that way.

So my plan was to spend 4 nights at Coronado Springs Resort (the only Moderate we hadn't been to) and then 3 nights at Contemporary. My plan was to book CSR as a package with 8-day tickets, and book the Contemporary as a room-only reservation.

My wife and 2 young kids are sleepy-heads and I'm an early riser. My plan was to take an early bus to Magic KIngdom (they start running about 6:30 a.m.) and then take the short walk to Contemporary. I would chekc-in, which you can do as early as about 7:00 a.m. ... even if your room isn't ready, you can get your room keys along with a phone number to call to find out your room number once it is ready.

I'd then take a taxi back to CSR in time for the family to wake up. We'd pack our bags and call Bell Services and have them pick up the bags for delivery to CSR. Because I would've signed up for express check-out when I first checked-into CSR, there's be no reason for me to have to stop at the front desk on my way out of the resort.

We'd then go to a park for the day, most likely MK, and then when we needed a break we'd simply go to our NEW room at Contemporary. Some time near the end of that day, I would've brought our old room keys and our new room keys down to Contemporary's lobby concierge desk to have our park tickets transferred to our Contemporary keys from our CSR keys.

We ended up NOT doing this when Disney announced its Buy 4 Nights Get 3 Free promotion last year ... we were able to stay all 7 nights at Polynesian in a MK-view room for about the same price as the split stay.

[mouseketeer mom]

We have split stayed three times in the past when the itch to try new places was there.
We split
WLV/AKL
Poly/BC
CR/Poly
I am well over the split stays.. I just find the packing/repacking/unpacking part an issue. We are a family of five, and its accurate that I don't pack lightly. Also we tend to really move in during our stay, so I found it time consuming, actually a waste of time to do all of that extra work. I found that during our first stay I was keenly aware that we'd be leaving in a few days,so I was always on top of things, never fully getting settled in. And while Disney made moving to the next resort fairly easy, it still took up a chunk of your day. Its not for us.
We are complete Polynesian people, and no longer feel the need to try/do them all. We know where we're happiest, and like to settle in for our entire length of stay at one resort.

[Mousemates]

We have done multiple split stays over the years and if we are going to be at Disney more than four nights you can pretty much count on us moving once while we are there. Our number one rule for making a split stay nice is to always move up to better accomodations...its much easier to enjoy the move if your room getting bigger and youramenities getting more luxurious and numerous, than it is if things become "less" after the move.

Also, and this is just how the human mind tends to work (or at least our minds), the last resort is the one we tend to remember the whole trip the trip by. (For example if we start out at the Pop for four night and finish at the Poly or Grand for three nights....we kind of tend to only remember the Grand as being where we stayed during our vacation (which leaves us with both a great memory and a significant amount of cash left in our bank accounts).

[mom2morgan]

Also, and this is just how the human mind tends to work (or at least our minds), the last resort is the one we tend to remember the whole trip the trip by. (For example if we start out at the Pop for four night and finish at the Poly or Grand for three nights....we kind of tend to only remember the Grand as being where we stayed during our vacation (which leaves us with both a great memory and a significant amount of cash left in our bank accounts).
LOL! Love the "psychology" of this response!

[mom2morgan]

I ended up NOT doing this, but here was my plan:
.

Sounds complex! You are a real sweetheart to plan that for your wife :-)

[Rachie]

We've done 2 split stays mainly because we were using my in-law's DVC points but wanted to stay longer. The first trip was Boardwalk Villas then CBR. We took a cab from one to another & brought out luggage with us. The second trip was the Animal Kingdom Villas then CSR. That time we asked at the front desk & someone drove us in a van, again with our luggage. I enjoyed staying at 2 resorts...it was kinda like two separate vacations!:mickey:

[Crow]

Ive done it a few times cause I like to try the diff resorts...and I couldnt afford a whole trip at the deluxes. Its easy, just ask bell services to transfer your luggage. this is the way that i have gotten to experience most of the resorts, except for the higher price deluxes.

[MickyLuver]

I did a split stay and I did it because I wanted to stay longer, so I saved money by staying at value resort for part of the trip and then moving to a deluxe the rest of the trip.

I will never do it again. First, I really don't like the value resorts. I need a lobby that I can reach without going outside and walking a 'country' mile. Also, when the weather is not so good, I can enjoy the lobby and the activities they may have and it provides a way out of the room.

We had bad weather when we came to FL and stayed in OKW (I know it is a deluxe villa resort, but it does not have a lobby attached) We were stuck in the room for 4 days because it was so cold and raining everyday.

I also did not like the packing and repacking. It seems like an easy thing to do, but for me is was a real chore.

[Janmac]

We did one split stay - 7 at OKW and 3 at the Poly - back in 2008. We were at OKW on my sister's time share exchange and moved to the Poly as an anniversay stay because of our first ever on property stay in 1988, which was 3 days at the Poly.

If we were to split again, we'd probably do it the other way around, the shorter amount first, because we had a BUNCH of stuff to pack up. Too many souvenirs! And nothing to put them in. We could have planned that much better.

We drove down, so we had our own vehicle to move. We can't drive around WDW without getting lost, so it took 3 tries to get to the Poly. It all worked out.

We probably wouldn't split again, unless we did have a storage tote or something and made sure to put all bought things in there each day, until we moved. We did spend most of a day packing up the room - the kitchen especially - and then loading up the car.

We also had the dining plan credits that we bought while at OKW and then the package at the Poly with different dining credits. That wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be except that the first night at the Poly we were still using our OKW credits.

Also, doesn't Universal have a super fast pass kind of thing you can buy for something like $20 each? If there is such a thing, you might have to do the math to see if it's cheaper to stay at Disney, and simply drive over every day.

It seems to me that if you're the type that likes to unpack so you have that at home feel, splitting your stay might make you feel as tho you were wasting some of your time.

Jan

[Ian]

Can you tell me about your experiences?Yes ... yes I can ...

I don't really like it that much (for reasons I'll explain in a minute) and I wouldn't really recommend it unless there's a compelling reason to do it.

I can say with almost 100% certainty that I will split stays again, but I plan on keeping it to a minimum. I'll probably only do it just to knock out the last few resorts I haven't stayed in yet.


Why did you do it?We're DVC members and it used to be that the points required for weekend nights were much higher than the points for weekdays, so we would often plan a week stay, but only stay at a DVC resort on points during the week. On the weekends we'd do a cash booking somewhere. It's not really like that now as much, though.


How many days did you stay in each?It varied ... sometimes we'd do one night at the cash hotel and then five at the DVC. Other times it would be two nights at one resort and four or five at DVC. All depends on the stay. Actually the trip I just got back from, we did three nights at Bay Lake Tower and three nights at Saratoga Springs, but that was because we decided late in the game to extend our stay and BLT didn't have any one bedroom villas left.


Anyone ever been crazy enough to do more than 2 resorts, or to stay partly on and partly off property?. Yep. I've done both of those things. We drove down a couple years ago and on the first night we stayed at the Swan. We then moved to a DVC villa for five nights, but on our last night we stayed at the Dolphin. I've also done it where we spent our last night offsite, because we got such a good deal on a place near the airport or something.


What did you find the best way to have your luggage transferred, and did you feel like you were wasting part of the day checking in and checking out?. We've only ever transferred luggage ourselves. I know that allegedly Disney will move your bags for you, but the two times I've asked I was told no. They don't do that.

As far as wasting part of the day, absolutely. It also kind of chops your stay up a bit and makes the entire vacation go faster, if you ask me. But you definitely waste hours packing up, moving, checking in, unpacking again ... it's not the best use of time.


We're just so anxous to try as many places as possible in the few trips we get to make!Yeah, that's been another motivation of mine for the split stays. As I mentioned before, I'm very close to having stayed at every WDW resort and I just need to tick those last couple off my list! ;)

[Mitzie]

We have done a couple of split stays. I agree to put the delx. room at the end of the trip. If you are doing the DDP, food credits are attached to your room reservation. The credits from your first resort will expire at mid-night of the day you check out. This can take some planning for your meals and which food credits are being used on that 'move' day. We would do it again just to see new places.

[PrettyMinnie]

Also, doesn't Universal have a super fast pass kind of thing you can buy for something like $20 each? If there is such a thing, you might have to do the math to see if it's cheaper to stay at Disney, and simply drive over every day.



You can by an "Express Pass" from Universal but it is more expensive than $20 and you can only use it on each ride once. The other thing that makes it not worth it, is the pass does not apply for all rides. I would not rely on the Express pass at Universal.

[mom2morgan]

You can by an "Express Pass" from Universal but it is more expensive than $20 and you can only use it on each ride once. The other thing that makes it not worth it, is the pass does not apply for all rides. I would not rely on the Express pass at Universal.
Thanks, I didn't know that! I sent the rest of my family off to Six Flags for the day on our California trip this summer, and invested in THEIR version- a "Platinum flash pass". They say it was WELL worth the money since it let them go front of the line AND ride consecutively on MOST of the rides (a few were excluded). It was a scorching hot and very crowded day in July, so they would have been absolutely miserable without it. They were expensive, though! Doesn't sound like Universal has anything quite to match. I might just have to count on May not being too crazy.

[PrettyMinnie]

We have been in May twice and the crowds were very manageable (this was before Harry Potter World opened though). We were able to walk on almost everything and ride them several times in a row. We finished the whole park in about half a day. The one other warning is usually sometimes in May they shut the park down around 6 and re-open for local high schools for graduation/prom things. It wasn't a problem for us because we went early, but just a heads up!

[DakotaDisney]

I have done one split stay and was going to do another but didn't. (I'll explain why in a bit)

On my split stay I stayed at AKL for 4 nights then went on a Disney Cruise then at Pop for 2 nights. Since I was on a cruise in between I didn't have to worry about luggage between hotels.

I didn't split my other trip because of the package that I bought. If you do a special package with tours, golf, and other special things be aware that split stays, make it tricky.
I was going to stay at AKL and then Pop , but ended up staying only at AKL because of the package. When I booked my package the reservationist said it wouldn't be a problem, but when I got my information in the mail, the tours, the golf, the LaNouba tickets, etc. had to be used up in my days at AKL otherwise I would loose them. They couldn't be used during my days at the other resort. So, I called back and found out this was the case and the original reservationist was wrong. Since I couldn't take complete advantage of all the perks of the package during the number of days I had at AKL, I decide to stay at AKL the whole time, so I could take full advantage of the extras, because that's why I did the package.
If you do a package and a split stay, just plan accordingly, so you don't waste or lose anything that you are paying for.

[Cinderelley]

Yeah, I've done it all in one trip. Our first trip was crazy like that.

It was me, my immediate family and my extended family. We were paying.

We all flew into Orlando at different times during the day. I didn't want my familiy to have to worry about transportation, and I wouldn't be there to pay when they arrived at WDW so DME was the perfect answer. I booked everyone at Pop Century for the first night.

A full week at WDW for 15 people was a bit out of my price range, so we used our timeshare to get accommodations for everyone offsite for the week. $99 per family per week was a lot cheaper than $99 per family per night.

At the end of the week, my extended family went home, and my family moved to the Ft. Wilderness cabins. It was the most logical choice for the 6 of us. We loved it.

A couple of days later, DH had to go home due to work obligations, but the kids and I stayed. The kids had wanted to try the Polynesian, so we moved to the Poly for the second week.

Yes, Disney moved our luggage for us from the cabins to the Poly.

[mom2morgan]

Thanks for all the advice - I think we've finally settled on the following plan. I don't think I mind the packing too much, so I think this will fit my budget and need for adventure ;-) We're going for a whole 14 days - so we're going to stay the first 4 in a value (probably POP) and do all our OFF site stuff - Universal and Seaworld - so I won't need Dining plan or park tickets, and we won't be at the resort much anyway. Then we'll move to a Moderate (my kids want to try Carribean) for 6 days. I'll get the dining plan and 10 day park hopper tickets. We'll try to do our most "expensive" meals in those days so we get best value for the dining plan. THEN we'll move to a Deluxe for the last 4 days (and pay meals out of pocket again). I don't think 2 moves in 14 days will feel too bad and I think this will balance out time and budget.